Erik Forsberg new Scandinavian Managing Director of EIT Health

Erik Forsberg is the new Managing Director of EIT Health Scandinavia from 1 March. He joins the organisation from Uppsala BIO, the life science growth initiative.

EIT Health, established by the EU body EIT, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, is the largest European life science collaboration organisation. The Scandinavian Co-Location-Centre covers Sweden, Denmark and Estonia and has its prime offices in Stockholm. Erik Forsberg is joining EIT Health Scandinavia at a time of rapid development of the organisation throughout Europe and in Scandinavia:

“I am thrilled to join such a large and high-level European cooperation as EIT Health, and I very much look forward to leading the Scandinavian branch of EIT Health and working together with the European network in this exciting period of the organisation’s development. Companies, universities and the public sector working within life science and health in the forefront of knowledge are truly international actors”, says Erik Forsberg.

“We must also further cross the borders between research, education and business, in order to generate effective public private partnerships whose solutions are brought to e.g. healthcare providers and cities and in the end benefit all citizens. There is much we can do to enhance cross-border and cross-sector cooperation, to maximize the potential of innovative ideas. It is only by means of collaboration, that we can bring about better solutions to enable European citizens to living longer, healthier lives.”

Erik Forsberg joins EIT Health from Uppsala BIO, the regional growth initiative within life sciences, which he has lead for more than 10 years, and developed the organisation to become an integral part of the regional and national life science ecosystem.

“Erik has developed Uppsala BIO’s operations and driven development of the life science ecosystem that have enabled the region’s life sciences to grow and develop. We’re delighted that he has decided to join EIT Health Scandinavia and lead the organisation through its next phase of development,” said Per Matsson, Chairman of the Board of EIT Health Scandinavia and CTO at Thermo Fischer Scientific.

Erik Forsberg is Assoc. Prof. in Medical Biochemistry, and has pursued a career within life science both within business and academia, as well as the last 10 years leading Uppsala BIO, a non-profit Foundation working for increased competitiveness and growth. Besides this, Erik Forsberg has the last years held several positions within the Swedish life science sector, and is currently Governing Board Member of the strategic innovation programme SWElife and Board member of the Swedish network for innovation & technology transfer support (SNITTS). He is now also member of the European Management Board of EIT Health, led from the headquarter in Germany.